- Amadeus V, Count of Savoy
Amadeus V (between 1249 and 1253,
Le Bourget-du-Lac –16 October ,1323 ,Avignon ), surnamed the Great for his wisdom and success as a ruler, was the Count of Savoy from 1285 to 1323. He establishedChambéry as his seat. He was the son ofThomas II of Savoy and Beatrice di Fiechi.Reign
Amadeus IV 'the Great' (reigned 1285-1323) succeeded his childless paternal uncle
Philip I, Count of Savoy as Count of Savoy. Amadeus was a younger brother ofThomas III of Piedmont who had died in 1282. Thomas had been succeeded by his eldest sonPhilip I of Piedmont who had a stronger claim to the County than Amadeus. However Philip was about seven years old and at the time unable to press a claim.Amadeus managed to secure the support of his nephew by offering Philip control of
Turin andPinerolo . Amadeus also secured the loyalty of his younger brother Louis by offering himVaud as an hereditary barony.On
1 October ,1285 , Amadeus was declared protector ofGeneva after negotiations with the Bishop of Geneva. The hereditary title belonged toAmadeus II, Count of Geneva who was in conflift with the Bishop.Through his marriage to Sybilla, Countess of
Bugey andBresse , he was able to incorporate these Burgundian districts into his states. Later expansion saw his dominions further increased.In 1295, Amadeus acquired the fortress Château de Chambéry from its previous owner Hugh of La Rochette. He chose Chambéry as his main residence and in the following decorated it with paintings.
Among his successes was the Treaty of Annemasse which the
Count of Geneva and the Dauphin of Viennois accepted subservient roles to him as hisvassal s. The treaty was the result of military victories over the both of them. In 1301, Amadeus also settled his dispute over control ofValais with theRoman Catholic Diocese of Sion .His reign ,however, also saw friction between the County of Savoy and the Duchy of Austria. He pursued an alliance with the Kingdom of France and received
Maulévrier inNormandy as a result of initial good relations.The eventual recovery of
Lyon by the Kings of France alerted Amadeus to their expansionistic tendencies towards the regions by theAlps . He sought a powerful ally against potential hostility inHenry VII, Holy Roman Emperor . Henry was married toMargaret of Brabant , sister-in-law of Amadeus. The relation through marriage probably helped the alliance. Henry awarded Amadeus with the title ofimperial vicar for the Kingdom of Italy and at least titular claim over theAsti region.In 1315, Amadeus assisted the
Knights Hospitaller in the defense ofRhodes against the Turks.Family and children
He first married Sybille of Bage and had 8 children:
# Bonne of Savoy, marriedJohn I of Viennois , dauphin of Viennois and Hugh of Burgundy, lord of Montbauson
# John of Savoy
# Beatrice of Savoy, marriedManfred III of Saluzzo
# Edoardo
# Eleonor of Savoy, marriedWilliam of Chalon , count of Auxerre and Tonnerre, Dreux IV of Mello and John I, count Forez - their children included Marguerite of Mello, who marriedJohn II of Chalon-Arlay
# Margaret of Savoy, d. 1349, married toJohn I of Montferrat
# Agnes of Savoy, d. 1372, married to William III ofGeneva
# AimoneHe married, secondly, Maria of Brabant who was a daughter of
John I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders. Her maternal grandparents wereGuy of Dampierre and his first wife Matilda of Bethune. They had 4 children:
# Maria of Savoy
# Catherine of Savoy, d. 1336, married to Leopold I (duke of Austria and Styria)
#Anna of Savoy , d. 1359, married toByzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos
# Beatrice of Savoy, married Henry VI, Duke of Carinthia, count of TirolExternal links
* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SAVOY.htm#AmedeeVdied1323 His listing in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley.] The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."
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